Darkest Machinations
by jewbiie
Summary: If it wasn't for the fact they were identical, you'd have never guessed they were related. 7227 with some G27 and 1827 WARNING! Includes gore, violence, rape, abuse, cannibalism in later chapters.
1. Chapter 01: It's Only Just Begun

**So, I've noticed quite a few 7227 stories appearing around now when I think about it and as much as I enjoy those stories, in my mind, HDW!Tsuna's character is done…wrong. There's no other way to explain it just people do it **_**wrong**_**. This is a personal opinion and that's how I perceive it.**

**Hiki-chan's HDW!Tsuna (Tsunayoshi) is the closest to my perceived view on his character, but not how I think he should be viewed. So, I'm going to finally write for my OTP – 7227. I'd like to show you all how **_**I **_**believe Tsunayoshi's character should be put across.**

**So, if you're uncomfortable with gore, violence, psychosis, self-harming for pleasure, cannibalism, rape, abuse and yaoi, go away. **

**Summary – **If it wasn't for the fact they were identical, you'd have never guessed they were related. 7227. WARNING! Includes gore, violence, rape, abuse, cannibalism and other things Tsunayoshi's capable of.

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><p><em><span>Chapter 01: It's Only Just Begun<span>_

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_When you're not on edge you're taking up too much space –_Cheshire Cat, Alice: Madness Returns

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><p>"He's coming home today."<p>

Tsuna bit his lower lip. How could four simple words sound so utterly terrifying? Even his own mother, Nana Sawada, had a slight tremor in her voice as she told Tsuna the news. Her hand placed over his as she did her best to grit her teeth and stop herself from shaking – Tsuna knew the last thing she wanted Tsuna to feel was petrified from this sudden news, but no form of reassurance could take away the sheer fright he felt right now.

So many questions whirled through his mind at an alarming rate he wasn't able to keep up with the majority of them. Why were they releasing him now? What on earth were they thinking? Is he well enough to leave? Is he _better_? What would life be like when his brother – his twin – returned to the household? Too many questions and no answers, and they most certainly didn't help with this nightmare scenario.

"Oh," was all Tsuna could manage to get out, looking up at his mother and forcing himself to smile at her. If he couldn't be reassured, he could at least make his mother feel at ease.

"I know this is sudden Tsu-kun," Nana pressed on, squeezing Tsuna's hand a little before releasing the tight grip, "But the decision was made early this morning. I'm going to try and sort out the spare bedroom as soon as possible so you can have a room to yourself…"

That was another thing; not only was his brother returning home today, but they had to _share_ a room.

Tsuna inwardly shuddered at the thought. He needed to stay calm, stay focused, he needed to make sure his mother didn't panic or suddenly second guess her choices of bringing the older twin back into the family household.

In reality, all Nana cared about was the younger twins safety over her own. If Tsuna showed any signs of fear or discomfort with having his twin back home then she would've, as cruel as it may sound, asked that he would be put into care. Granted, anyone outside of their family would've been shocked that Nana, a kind-hearted, loving woman would do such a thing, but she would have had her reasons.

"It's fine," Tsuna said, fidgeting with the hems of his school vest with his free hand, looking away from his mother, "I don't mind."

"Are you sure you're okay to go to school today Tsu-kun?" Nana asked, "I can call and explain you're staying off because of family issues…"

Tsuna shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to be here when his mother returned home with that— with his brother. Even if it meant a free day off school without having to pretend he was sick and would be free to watch TV or go on his computer, it wasn't worth it.

The ironic part? Tsuna was actually feeling physically sick right now. It's funny how when you're not ill you want to stay home but when you're actually feeling like you're going to vomit or pass out any moment the last thing you want to do was to be in your house. Then again, it was the thought that his twin brother, Tsunayoshi Sawada, would be coming home today that was making him feel this way, so being away from his house would probably cure the symptoms. But not the problem.

"Well, alright," Nana said, standing up and letting go of Tsuna's hand, "I'm leaving to get him at eleven thirty, so he'll be here when you come back."

"Alright," Tsuna said, standing up and picking up his bag from the floor, slinging it over his right shoulder and letter his body slump forward a little, "I'll…try and get home quickly then I guess."

"Un, have fun at school Tsu-kun! Try not to think about this much!" Nana said enthusiastically as Tsuna headed out of the front door and down the road to Namimori High.

How could he _not_ think about it though?

What was he supposed to say to people who asked questions if and when Tsunayoshi started his high school? They had no knowledge Tsuna had a sibling let alone a twin. What was he supposed to tell people who asked where he had been all these years? A lot of his classmates went to Namimori Middle after all if not all of them…Tsunayoshi had been gone since elementary! This would look more than suspicious.

What if his friends hated him for lying to them about not having any other family bar his mother? He didn't have many friends, mainly just Gokudera and Yamamoto. Surely they wouldn't hate him…right? It's not like Tsuna ever anticipated that the doctors would let his brother out of that place at all. He didn't _deserve_ to be let out of that place.

Would Tsunayoshi follow him around in school? Would people like him or hate him as well? How would Tsunayoshi even survive in a high school when the last school he ever attended was an elementary school!

All these questions were hurting his head and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet.

"…na! Tsuna!"

Blinking, Tsuna stopped in his tracks and turned around. He inwardly sighed in relief when he saw his two best and only friends, Gokudera and Yamamoto walking towards him from behind.

Some sense of normality – finally.

"Ohayo Tsuna," Yamamoto said as the two approached him, a big grin on his face, "You alright? We've been calling your name since you left the house."

"Oh," Tsuna said, shrugging his bag onto his shoulder a little more, "Sorry, I didn't hear…"

"That's alright!" Yamamoto said cheerfully, wrapping an arm around Tsuna's shoulder while Gokudera scowled in Yamamoto's direction.

"Don't touch the tenth so casually!" Gokudera spat, gritting his teeth as he glared at Yamamoto. In response, Yamamoto just laughed off Gokudera's outburst and rubbed Tsuna's shoulder gently before letting go.

"So, how was your weekend Tsuna? We tried to get hold of you on Saturday but we kept on being put forward to the answer machine," Yamamoto said as the three began walking towards Namimori High.

"Oka-san was getting a lot of phone calls over the weekend…" Tsuna replied quietly.

_Phone calls about Tsunayoshi…_

"Ah~ I see!" Yamamoto replied cheerfully, "Are you free to come out after school today? We're heading into town for a bit just to hang out."

Tsuna's mind paused. If he hung out with Gokudera and Yamamoto after school today, then it would delay the reunion between himself and his twin. Not once in eight years had Tsuna gone to visit his brother and to be quite frank, he didn't ever want to. His mother, when she would go and make a monthly visit, would always tell him about how Tsunayoshi kept on asking about Tsuna and how he wanted to see him.

Maybe that's what made this worse – the fact that his brother _wanted_ to see him. His brother was unpredictable, the last time he ever saw Tsuna was…

Tsuna physically shook his head. No, bad thoughts. He didn't need to think about that right now.

"I…" Tsuna began, hesitating for a moment, "I'd like to b-but…we're having a family…reunion today…"

"Eh?" both Gokudera and Yamamoto chorused at the same time.

"I thought you only lived with your mother Tsuna," Yamamoto said curiously, looking at the other.

"Oh…oka-san is having…family we haven't seen for a couple of years over…for a while…s-so she wants me to be home early so I can…see them," Tsuna said. It wasn't a complete lie – in fact it wasn't a lie at all. He just didn't specify what relative he would be 'reuniting' with. Even if he would have to tell them soon, he wanted to straighten things out in his own mind before he did so.

"I bet you'll have more fun than I will with this idiot tenth," Gokudera said, patting Tsuna on the back.

_Oh if only_.

They eventually arrived at school, which was as undesirable as usual. Yamamoto had to spend the first three periods with the baseball team to practice for their upcoming game at the end of the week. Before Tsuna and Gokudera headed into their classroom for homeroom, Yamamoto quickly said goodbye to them both before running off. Tsuna sighed as he watched one of his two best friends run off – for once he dreaded seeing Yamamoto in fourth period, since it meant the time to return home was beckoning closer and closer.

Throughout the day leading up to fourth period, Tsuna had actually learnt something. No, no, he wasn't paying attention in class, rather he learnt that time seemed to go by faster when you dreaded something. He always looked forward to school ending, but when he did the classes seemed to go by unexplainably slow. Now, when he _didn't_ want classes to end, the time he spent in each class seemed to be going by faster than Tsuna could think about it.

It was funny really, how life seemed to like to work against him.

When the bell rang for lunch period, Tsuna almost fell out of his seat. Partially because he wasn't expecting the loud, abrupt noise to be as shrill as it was when it filled up the silent classroom, but also because of the distasteful anticipation that was leading up towards the end of the day. Each time the bell rang Tsuna felt himself get sicker – it was like constant reminder saying to him 'oh hey you've got this many bells left until you have to go home.'

Whilst everyone around him began to stand and scurry off outside with their friends, Tsuna sat still in his seat whilst staring down at his desk. Why was it so difficult to get up and move? It almost felt as though if he didn't move, then time wouldn't pass as quickly. Maybe if he stayed still, time would too. Then that way, he'd never have to go home and face his brother, he'd never have to go home and face what Tsuna expected to be a nightmare. His nails dug into the wood of his desk as he bit on his lower lip roughly, the teeth gradually sinking into the soft skin and tearing into it as a steady pace. Usually, this sort of pain would have hurt Tsuna, but the thought of the gruelling pain subsided into his unconscious mind as his thoughts focused on more pressing matters at hand – his brother.

He'd never told anyone about him and he had a bloody good reason why not. The most obvious reason was that he was locked up inside an asylum and why the doctors were releasing him from there was well beyond the young teen. It's mainly the reasons as to why he ended up there in the first place…he could never tell his friends, especially Gokudera and Yamamoto about that. What would they think of his family then? Not that Tsuna was calling them judgemental or anything, just he didn't know how they would react and didn't want to either. Would they be disappointed that he didn't trust them enough to tell them or completely blow up a storm about it? Would they not care and part of Tsuna's fussing over this would've been for nothing?

Would Tsunayoshi start school? Would he not even have to worry about explaining anything? Maybe he could make up a lie and tell everyone that he had no idea they were related until last night. But then again, Tsuna was terrible at lying and god knows what Tsunayoshi might tell people. Could he pass with an 'it's complicated' and hope that no one would press him further on that? Then again, that might not always work. Some nosy person would try and press him for answers and try to get it out of him and then the truth would spread around the school like wildfire.

"Tsuna-kun?" a soft voice called from the right of Tsuna, causing him to start. He jerked his head quickly to the right to look up at the person who had called his name, discovering it was none other than Kyoko Sasagawa.

She stood before him with a small smile on her face with her hands placed behind the small of her back. She was standing fairly close to Tsuna's desk and her body was turned so she was properly facing Tsuna. Quickly standing, Tsuna accidentally pushed the desk forward with his body which caused Kyoko to take a few step backwards in surprise as she backed up into the desk behind her.

"S-sorry," Tsuna stammered as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Kyoko shook her head whilst brushing her skirt down.

"No, it's fine," she smiled as she stood upright and looked up at Tsuna once more, her smile not fading, "I was going to ask if you wanted to come and eat lunch with me Tsuna-kun, since you were sitting alone."

Tsuna positively beamed. Finally, something that could brighten up his day – having lunch with Kyoko Sasagawa. It was something most guys at their school dreamed about doing and even though it sounded as though she was just doing it out of pity, it was good enough for Tsuna. It was good enough to make his day better and it would surely put his mind at ease for the rest of lunch about worrying over Tsunayoshi and the situation revolving around him.

"I'd love t—" Tsuna began.

"Sawada," his teacher from the lesson prior to lunch called, grabbing the attention of both Kyoko and Tsuna. He beckoned Tsuna over with his hand curtly before sitting down at his desk. Inwardly sighing, Tsuna glanced back over at Kyoko before reluctantly heading over to the teacher's desk, standing before it.

"Y-yes sensei?" Tsuna asked hesitantly, his fingertips resting on the wood of his teacher's desk.

His teacher instantly held up a slip of paper with a giant 'F' written across the top of it in red marker whilst raising an eyebrow. Flushing in embarrassment once more, Tsuna instantly averted his eyes to the ground whilst lightly biting on his already sore lip. He knew what was coming – he'd get a telling off right in front of Kyoko. How pathetic was that? This was complete and utter proof that life was working against him.

"Another failed test Sawada," the teacher began as he placed the slip of paper on the desk, pushing it towards Tsuna, "What number is that now?"

"…I-I don't know," Tsuna honestly replied.

"In all honesty Sawada, neither do I," the teacher retorted, leaning back in his chair, "I've lost count over the amount of times you've succeeded to fail at my class. Do you like after school detentions Sawada? Is that the reason you continue to fail?"

"No sensei—" Tsuna tried to begin.

"Then why? Because honestly Sawada, this is becoming an unhealthy pattern for someone who could be capable of passing my class," the teacher sighed, rubbing his forehead a bit.

"I…" Tsuna began, turning his head a little as he watched Kyoko walk out of the classroom door. His heart sank as she looked back at him for a brief moment whilst giving him a small, sad smile before leaving down the hall. Just his luck. Honestly, it was.

"…I don't know," Tsuna admitted as he looked back over at his teacher.

"Well Sawada, it's not good enough," the teacher sighed, sitting up properly as he rested his elbows on the desk, "Look, I'll be lenient and let it slide since I know you were absent during the revision class, so I won't put you in detention…"

"N-no!" Tsuna exclaimed, feeling his face light up, "I'll go! T-to detention that is…I-I'll go today!"

The teacher raised an eyebrow again, silently questioning Tsuna. What student would want to spend part of their afternoon willingly in afterschool detention? Surely there must've been a reason behind it. Never the less, the teacher didn't try to press the matter. If Tsuna wanted to stay behind for afterschool detention then he didn't need to stop him.

"Alright," the teacher said, sitting back in his chair again, "You can go ahead and attend afterschool detention if you feel you'll benefit from it Sawada. Are you sure about today with such little notice?"

"I-it's fine," Tsuna replied quickly, "My mom isn't back until late t-tonight so she won't know."

"Then I'll write out the slip," the teacher said as he took out the detention slips from his draw, "You can go and have lunch now."

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><p><strong>Omg I've had this up for so long now I just want to post the first chapter like this okay expect more soon. –is cutting chapter one in half–<strong>


	2. Chapter 02: Dear Brother

**Hello guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I haven't been lazy. After I posted chapter one of this, I then went off to Rome with my college then the moment I got back, I caught a really bad sickness bug that had been going around at the time so I didn't feel up to writing. Soon as that was over, I was off to Florida for eleven days~ first time ever visiting America! Woo! And then as soon as I got back I was bombarded with revision for my exams. Which ended today |D**

**So I've been really busy and I'm **_**sooooo**_** sorry! Gah the last time I wrote this I was sixteen and now I've seventeen after being away for so long! Once again I'm **_**really**_** sorry about this! It won't happen again hopefully since I have the summer off now, though next weekend there won't be an update since I'm off to London MCM Expo! If you're going to be there, drop me a PM! Would love to meet some of you guys~**

**So long authors note. Once again this will **_**not**_** happen again I've been so stressed out from revising and it all ended today with my English exam which I'm pretty confident I've aced. So…YAY?**

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><p><em><span>Chapter 02: Dear Brother<span>_

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_Now that you know I'm trapped, sense of elation, you'd never dream of breaking this fixation. _–Muse, Time Is Running Out

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><p>To be perfectly honest, Tsuna was on edge for the majority of his lunch break.<p>

As he sat perched in-between Yamamoto and Gokudera, his eyes kept glancing over to the far edges of the rooftops to look for any possible signs Tsunayoshi might be out there looking for him. He could feel the anxiety inside of him well up the more his mind pressed on the matter at hand which as a result led to a half-eaten lunch. Tsuna couldn't stomach his lunch right now, not when he was in the midst of an internal frenzy.

"You okay Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked as they headed down the hallway towards their next class, "You didn't eat all your lunch, you feeling sick?"

Tsuna shook his head redundantly whilst letting out a quiet sigh. He glanced towards Yamamoto and gave his best friend a small smile of fake reassurance. Right now, he really didn't want to let Yamamoto or Gokudera in on the fact he had a twin brother, let alone any further details on why he was so worried to face that same brother after many years of living blissfully unaware that he'd have to one day face Tsunayoshi again.

"I'm fine…" Tsuna quietly added moments afterwards, "J-just tired I guess…aha…"

"You should try and get more sleep tenth," Gokudera said, butting into the conversation. Once again, Tsuna only mindlessly nodded in agreement, not actually registering what his friend was saying.

The time to face his brother was getting closer, even with his detention after school today, the time to finally face him after years of thinking he'd never have to see that…_monster_ ever again was approaching. It hadn't really sunk in yet as to how his life was going to change once is brother moved back in with him and their mother. Tsuna had been too busy focusing his thoughts on mentally preparing himself for the events that were going to take place this evening, he didn't have time to dwell on the aftermath.

His final lesson, to Tsuna's dismay, didn't drag out as much as he hoped it would. He tried to distract himself by looking out of the window at the cherry blossom tree that stood tall right next to where he was seated next to the window. However this only led to his thoughts finally going back to Tsunayoshi – how he was out there, right now, _free_.

When watching the petals from the cherry blossom tree didn't work whilst letting his mind wander, Tsuna would turn his attention to his classmates instead. He could've possibly focused on the lesson his teacher was rambling furiously on about, but his mind was incapable of concentrating on something like that right now – more so than usual. So instead he'd watch his classmates, in particular, Kyoko Sasagawa.

Tsuna was still disappointed that his teacher had interrupted the conversation he and Kyoko were beginning to have at the start of lunch. It was the first time Kyoko had ever shown any individual interest in Tsuna which had made Tsuna feel the happiest he had done that entire day. Eating lunch with Kyoko would've taken his mind off of the matter at hand, surely. Tsuna would've been too distracted by her soft hair and honey coloured eyes that seemed to shine in the light – how could she not brighten up his day and help him forget about his troubles and worries?

Almost immediately, Tsuna's face began to lose its colour. If Tsunayoshi were to ever attend the same school as him, that would mean he'd meet Kyoko. Tsuna felt his stomach tighten and his heart grow heavy at the thought of Kyoko ever having to meet Tsunayoshi. It wasn't because he was jealous or worried that Tsunayoshi may perhaps 'steal' Kyoko away from him. How could he anyway? It wasn't like he and Kyoko were even dating in the first place, they'd barely even had a proper conversation.

No, it was fear for her safety. Tsunayoshi was locked up in an asylum for a reason. If he ever found out Tsuna had an interest in Kyoko, then he'd notice her. What would that result in? Tsuna didn't even want to think about it. The very idea of Tsunayoshi even paying any 'interest' in Kyoko was enough to send Tsuna's anxiety levels hit the roof.

It seemed pointless to try and take his mind off of this. Not even staring at Kyoko was helping him, which was enough for Tsuna to realize – this situation wasn't going to go anywhere and no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't avoid it.

When the bell rung signalling the end of the school day, Tsuna immediately tensed up. This was it, the final hour before he had to face this unwanted situation. At least he had the detention to prepare himself for whatever was going to happen and he wanted to prepare for the worst – just in case. After all, Tsuna had no idea what kind of home awaited him when he went back.

"Oi! Tsuna~!" Yamamoto yelled from the door to the classroom, "You coming?"

Before Tsuna could respond, their teacher turned towards the classroom door whilst in the middle of cleaning the chalkboard.

"Sawada has detention, Yamamoto," the teacher answered for Tsuna before turning back to the chalkboard, "You best hurry up and leave."

Tsuna gave Yamamoto a meek smile before letting out a small sigh. He kind of felt bad in a way. He'd made Yamamoto and Gokudera worry about him throughout the day and he'd been more or less ignoring the. Tsuna didn't want to lie to them about anything either, he couldn't handle lying to his best friends, he'd feel more guilty than how he was feeling now for avoiding them.

Yamamoto flashed Tsuna big grin and waved whilst Gokudera gave Tsuna a small raise of the hand before stuffing his hands back in his pockets and following after Yamamoto. Tsuna couldn't help but lightly smile at that – even though Gokudera acted like he hated Yamamoto, seeing them both still walking home together reassured that it was all just a façade.

"You'll be serving your detention in the student council room, Sawada, helping Hibari file papers," his teacher said once all of the students had left.

Well when Tsuna thought his day couldn't get any worse, he had to spend the next hour with Hibari. When Tsuna thought about it, really he couldn't think which would be worse – going home and facing his brother or spending an hour's detention with Hibari. Both were equally dangerous options and potentially life threatening. Really, Tsuna probably would've been better off just going straight home to save himself the extra trouble of spending an hour with a person he feared.

"A-alright…" Tsuna choked as he stood up from his desk and grabbed his bag.

He scurried out of the room and shut the classroom door behind him. He could attempt to maybe leave now to avoid serving attention with Hibari and hang around at the local park for an hour or so before heading home…but Tsuna didn't really feel like putting his life on the line just to miss detention. Tsuna may have thought about skipping detentions a lot (and admittedly, he had done on one or two occasions) but skipping a detention with Hibari? No, Tsuna didn't want to die _just_ yet.

Stopping outside the door to the student council room, Tsuna felt his stomach tighten again. Kyoya Hibari – the deadliest human being to walk Namimori – was he guy he had to spend the next hour with. If he wasn't careful or if he wasn't living up to Hibari's standards, then he'd probably leave detention with a black eye and maybe a broken rib or two, if he was lucky.

Taking in a deep breath, Tsuna knocked on the door before timidly pushing it open. Hibari was sitting a few feet away at his desk with documents in his hand. Placed next to him on the table was his two metal tonfa's, two deadly pieces of metal Tsuna hoped he never had to come into contact with.

Blue eyes immediately turned up to look at Tsuna which froze him in place. Hibari's expression was unreadable, but he didn't seem annoyed, thankfully. At least that meant Tsuna wasn't late for his detention and wouldn't get 'bitten to death'.

"Sawada Tsuna," Hibari said in a low voice, "Get in."

Within a flash, Tsuna entered the student council room and shut the door quickly, but quietly behind him. He didn't want to make it seem as though he was nervous, after all, Hibari was the type of person who would happily play off of another person's nerves as a means to gain control over them. Tsuna had nearly been the subject of that plenty of times before when he had been late for school for the last…well, for basically all of his life.

"Sit there," Hibari calmly said, his gaze remaining cold and controlling.

Tsuna nodded and quickly scrambled towards the small wooden seat placed in front of the office desk Hibari had. It was kind of ironic, how a student was able to have as much authority as that of a teacher, if not more in some sense. Perhaps it might've been the fact that Hibari scared the teachers almost as much as he scared the entire student population of the school.

"…tch, I should bit you to death for failing another test Sawada," Hibari said as Tsuna let his bag drop onto the ground beside his chair.

"A-ah! P-please don't Hibari—…" Tsuna said, trying his best not to stutter his words, yet epically failing as a result.

"Stop talking," Hibari interrupted, looking back at the sheets he had in front of him. He let out what Tsuna could only describe as a slightly annoyed sigh – which Tsuna probably wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't paying close attention to Hibari in the case of any sudden movements the other might make.

"Sort these into piles herbivore whilst I nap. If you wake me up, I'll bite you to death," Hibari said, pushing the large pile of papers towards Tsuna before getting up from the desk.

…_but what sort of piles am I meant to sort them into…?_ Tsuna thought to himself worriedly as he snuck a glance at Hibari who brushed passed his chair. He didn't dare ask, after all, if he did, it just might result in a fate worse than death. Possibly.

Behind him, Tsuna heard the faint sound of the leather sofa squeak as Hibari's weight laid upon it. It was definitely too late to ask Hibari how to sort these papers out now. It was either ask him and possibly risk being beaten to death, or try and sort them into piles with the possibility of still being beaten to death for doing it wrong. Both choices didn't leave much margin for safety.

Tsuna began to try and sort through the piles of paper that didn't really make much sense. Most of it seemed to be detention slips; others seemed to be things regarding the student council and events going on with the school whilst the rest were a mix of things written in English and what Tsuna could only think to be love letters sent to Hibari from the girls at their school. Out of his own emotional interest, when Tsuna came across these kinds of papers, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at the sender in case Kyoko was one of the girls sending these letters to Hibari.

The sorting of the papers into piles managed to take Tsuna's mind off of Tsunayoshi and what would happen when he got back home more or less, but he still found his mind drifting back to it occasionally. So when the time came around for Tsuna to finish up his detention, the sudden wave of realization hit him again with a pang. He couldn't avoid it anymore – he _had_ to go home now.

Quietly glancing back at the sleeping Hibari, Tsuna slowly got up from where he was sitting, careful to not make any sudden movements in fear of making a loud noise as a result from doing so. He grabbed his bag resting against the side of his chair before standing upright again and letting out a silent sigh of relief. At least he'd be going home in one piece and not in pieces.

He turned to look outside – it wasn't getting dark yet, though there was a faint golden glow beginning to shadow over Namimori from the setting sun in the far distance. At least he could take his time going home since it wasn't dark yet, so his mother wouldn't start to worry about where he is as a result

Just as he went to look away, something caught Tsuna's attention out of the corner of his eye.

Taking a few steps forward, careful to not knock into the desk as he did so, Tsuna tried to peer downward towards the school gates. It was hard to make out from so high up in the school what was down below in the school. But when he did…

Tsuna let out a small, yet audibly loud yelp of terror.

Fearing for the worst, Tsuna covered his mouth and stumbled backwards into the desk, knocking over the neatly piled papers he had spent last hour organizing along with a few other trivial things. That was the least of his worries right now though. What he had just seen…he couldn't have seen it…right? It had to be his imagination or his mind playing tricks on him…

"Herbivore, what do you think you're doing?" Hibari's voice growled from behind him. Letting out another yelp, Tsuna turned around and stumbled backwards towards the glass window, his body hitting it gently with a quiet bang. His hand was still covering his mouth and he was beginning to shake and tremble. He didn't even dare take another peak down towards the gates of the school. He was too terrified to even think about doing so right now.

"H-H-Hibari…!" Tsuna managed to say shakily, "I—…"

"I'll bite you to death, for waking me up and failing to do as you're told," he growled, grabbing the tonfa's still laying on the desk between them.

Unable to escape, Tsuna just closed his eyes and let out a whimper as Hibari swung forward to hit him with his tonfa. Instinctively, he ducked out of the way and stumbled towards the floor instead as a result.

"Get up Sawa—…" Hibari began before stopping midsentence.

Tsuna peered up at Hibari. He was looking out towards the gates of the school like Tsuna had been doing moments ago.

Tsuna began to panic. Hibari had seen him, Hibari had seen _him_. How was he supposed to explain this to someone who scared him almost as much as his brother did? He had a hard enough time trying to tell his friends about him, let along telling Hibari.

"Sawada, who is that?" Hibari asked in a low voice, his eyes not moving from the window.

"…I—…" he couldn't find the right words to say. Did he lie? Did he try and avoid the question? Flat out tell him? How did he even know where the school was! What if he'd been waiting there when everyone else had left to go home…that would've meant everyone had seen him. That would mean everyone knew.

"Well?" Hibari asked impatiently, "Or do I have to force it out of you?"

"N-no!" Tsuna yelled, pushing himself onto his feet quickly, making sure he was out of sight from the window before he did so, "H-he—…I—…h-he's my b-brother…"

Hibari didn't say anything, but just continued to stare out of the window at his brother.

"…well? Aren't you going to leave?" Hibari asked suddenly, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"…" he couldn't answer nor move. His feet were stuck to the ground, he could try and force himself to move all he wanted but it wasn't going to happen.

"What is it herbivore, you're wasting my time."

"…p-please don't make me go out there…"

Hibari finally averted his eyes away from the window to look at Tsuna. At first, the smaller boy thought he was going to be smacked across the face with a tonfa from the way Hibari was glaring at him was enough for Tsuna to think that. Until Hibari's gaze softened just a little, enough to reassure Tsuna that he wasn't going to be beaten to a pulp.

"…you can't stay in here forever herbivore. Why don't you want to go out there," Hibari demanded rather than asked, managing to keep his tone slick and neutral as he spoke however.

"…I…it's…" Tsuna tried to say – but he couldn't. This wasn't something he could so easily get out.

Hibari paused before sighing heavily, putting his tonfa's back onto the desk beside them both.

"Do not start complaining to me about your family issues, Sawada," Hibari said, his gaze remaining on Tsuna.

For some reason, Tsuna felt almost saddened by that. The part of him that did want to cry out and tell someone about this – as small as it was – seemed to feel disappointed.

"But," Hibari continued, breaking Tsuna out of thought, "If he causes any trouble in Namimori, tell me. I will bite him to death."

Tsuna blinked before slowly nodding. It didn't give him a lot of reassurance, but hearing that from someone like Hibari made him feel safer. Even if Hibari wasn't protecting him, but the peace in Namimori, it was enough to calm Tsuna down.

"Now hurry up and leave," Hibari finished, turning towards the fallen papers on the floor.

"…d-do you want me to help you…?" Tsuna timidly asked.

"I said leave Sawada. Don't test my patience."

Tsuna grabbed his bag and shot out of the room. He didn't want to try Hibari's patience any more than he had already done.

He reached the front doors of the school and stopped again. Inhaling deeply, Tsuna took this time to prepare himself even more so for what was about to happen. Years of not having to face his brother – his twin – were about to end, and there was no one around to save him if it went horribly wrong.

Tsuna pushed open the school doors and looked across the vast school yard at the figure leaning lazily against the wall of the school gate. Tsuna could immediately tell what he was wearing had come from Tsuna's own wardrobe. Shaggy light blue jeans with an orange and white short sleeved top and a pair of orange converse on his feet. He didn't look like someone who had just come out of a mental asylum, just exactly like a normal person.

Suddenly, the others eyes flashed towards Tsuna's. Amber eyes locked onto Tsuna's brown ones – the only physical attribute that seemed to differ in them both. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. The wind stopped gently rustling the trees and the birds in the exact same trees seemed to quieten up. Even Tsuna himself felt as though his breathing had momentarily stopped as their eyes met. This was it now – he couldn't run, he couldn't turn back.

"…Tsuna?" the voice asked from the distance. It didn't sound real, it didn't actually feel like someone was talking. It was almost like Tsuna was imagining it.

Another pause, another wait.

Nothing was moving, nothing felt _real_.

In the back of his mind, Tsuna could hear the faint footsteps of feet crunching against a mix of grass and dry dirt echo closer and closer towards him. Behind him, the ticking of the clock that hung above Namimori seemed to join in with the rhythm of the footsteps as well in some sort of psychedelic musical beat. Within the mix of the footsteps and ticking, Tsuna heard the faint mumbling of what sounded like someone talking to him.

"Hey," Tsunayoshi said, his hand resting on Tsuna's shoulder as he spoke. Tsuna jumped a little in fright as he felt a firm hand rest on his shoulder, "Tsuna? You okay?"

He sounded so…casual. Almost like he'd never left. Like he'd always been there. He was touching him, talking to him in the same kind of way his friends would talk to him and being so…nonchalant, acting like he'd never left, like he'd never gone away…

"…T-Tsunayoshi…?" Tsuna asked quietly, staring at the other with slightly wide eyes.

"Hey," Tsunayoshi laughed lightly, giving Tsuna a lazy grin as he did so, "It's been a long time, huh? Did mom not tell you I was coming home?"

"S-she did…" Tsuna quietly replied.

"…what's wrong? Are you not happy to see me?" Tsunayoshi asked, instantly catching on. His grin faded into a slowly forming frown whilst his hand tightened on Tsuna's shoulder.

"N-no!" Tsuna exclaimed loudly, brushing Tsunayoshi's hand off of his shoulder taking a few steps backwards, "I-I just—…I just didn't expect y-you to be…b-be _here_…"

Tsunayoshi paused for a moment to stare at Tsuna before flickering his eyes upwards and then back down at Tsuna again. Tsuna couldn't tell what he was thinking – just that his amber eyes seemed to be searching for some sign that Tsuna might be lying. He didn't know whether he was angry, sad, disappointed…Tsuna had no idea. This situation was way too casual for Tsuna's liking though. The fact Tsunayoshi looked so normal, acted so normal…is this what people were like after they left mental asylums? Were they completely normal, did they act like what caused them to end up in a mental asylum in the first place? Was Tsuna expected to just act like everything was normal and fine too?

His brother did look harmless, he looked genuinely like a normal person. He didn't look like an insane psycho freak that Tsuna thought he would be like. Tsuna imagined Tsunayoshi to have still been some sort of raving lunatic that would have to remain housebound for the rest of his life, not someone who looked like a normal average day teen.

"…oh," Tsunayoshi finally said, forcing a smile back onto his face, "You didn't expect me to come and get you from school did you? Mom told me where the school was…she was worried why you didn't come home right away so I said I'd come and get you."

"O-oh…right…" Tsuna replied slowly.

"Plus…I really wanted to see you again, Tsuna," Tsunayoshi said whilst smiling, "I've been waiting all day for you to come home, I feel like I've been waiting forever."

"…oh…" It had really felt like forever to his brother? The day couldn't have been shorter.

"Mhmm. I've been so excited to see you again, when mom told me you decided to still go to school I was really disappointed…but I can't wait for you to tell me everything I've missed out on over the years!" Tsunayoshi grinned, his gaze softening a little, "And I can't wait until I enrol to a proper school finally on Monday. You've told people about me, right?"

"Y-yeah…" No.

"Good," Tsunayoshi said before turning away, "Let's go. I want to hear everything, alright?"

"R-right…" Tsuna replied slowly as he started forward. For some reason when Tsunayoshi said that he wanted to hear about everything…it felt more like a demand than a simple question.

Tsuna shook his head. He was overanalysing it. If Tsunayoshi was such a bad person, he wouldn't have been allowed out of the asylum in the first place. He had to be different, he had to have changed from back then.

As Tsuna followed behind his brother, he glanced to look back up towards the window of the student council room. There, he saw Hibari standing, his head turned downwards to stare at both Tsuna and Tsunayoshi. Once their eyes met, Hibari turned his head away and let the curtain of the room shut promptly afterwards.

Or perhaps not.

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><p><strong>So yeah. End of chapter two! There was actually more planned for this but I didn't want to bombard you guys with too much story at once so I'm slowly just piecing it down little by little. There was another little bit of chapter one, which will probably be chapter three now, so if it goes like this I already have nine chapters planned.<strong>

**Also before you ask – yes there will be 1827. There's also going to be G27 alongside this 7227 story. So please don't demand that I add it in or beg that I do. It will be in there.**


	3. Chapter 03: Killing the Comfort

_Chapter 03: Killing the Comfort_

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_Apologies, for losing my cooling, losing the day to night._ –The Bird and the Bee, Polite Dance Song

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><p>The rip of silence was agonizing to listen to as it poured out through the kitchen at the Sawada home. Tsuna found his body tensing in upon itself with his knees tucked firmly underneath the sturdy wooden dining table that was the only active separation between he and his brother, Tsunayoshi. With heavy eyes, Tsuna's gaze flickered and danced between looking at his brother and looking elsewhere in the kitchen. Every time Tsunayoshi caught him staring, Tsuna would hastily avert his gaze in a noticeable manner to something else. When amber eyes had met his own, Tsuna found that holding his brother's gaze for too long was incredibly menacing.<p>

Silence was occasionally flushed out by the intrusive sound of water droplets from the kitchen faucet hitting the basin of the sink itself. The lingering sound of the water colliding with the metal of the basin was enough to put Tsuna on the edge of his seat. At first, it seemed as though the water was mimicking the seconds fleeting by on the kitchen clock, yet after a minute or so had passed by, Tsuna had began to notice the disjoint and lack of union between the ticking hand of the clock and the water in the kitchen sink. The sounds buzzed inside Tsuna's mind, so much so that when he searched for something other than his brother to focus on, it was hard to tell the water from the ticking clock apart.

Tsuna had at some point clasped his fingers underneath the seat of the wooden chair he was sitting upon, and at a further point on from that, he had managed to ingrain his nails deep within the wood of the chair. It was going to hurt when he attempted to pull his nails out now that they had bedded themselves deep inside of the wood, but the slight numbing pain he was receiving from digging his nails into the chair served as his only stress reliever – his escape from the anxiety he was feeling – as he remained sat there before Tsunayoshi. A coping mechanism, perhaps, however Tsuna preferred to think of it as a distraction. Yet from what? The incriminating sound of the water slipping away from the faucet? The repetitive ticking of the kitchen clock? The baleful silence that filled the gaps between the water and the clock? Or was it from his brother? Tsuna himself wasn't sure of the answer himself right now.

"Yo, are you going to sit there saying nothing for the rest of the day?" Tsunayoshi's voice broke through Tsuna's deep mental process, shattering it completely, "Or are you gonna say something? I feel pretty awkward just sitting here."

"I...sorry," Tsuna hastily replied. How long had they been sitting here for, anyway? Tsuna had lost count minutes after they had sat down before one another after they arrived home from Namimori High. The walk home itself had be silent – after a few attempts at idle chit-chat and the brief responses he got from Tsuna, Tsunayoshi had bagged his brother as not being one for small talk – or talk at all – and the rest of the journey was made in an oddly comfortable silence.

This was not a situation that Tsuna could easily escape from. He knew as they further approached home, he would have to talk to Tsunayoshi when he got inside. Everything had come to him in such a blur. Tsuna had psyched himself out for the worst all day during school, only to be faced with his fears across a dining room table. As calming as the gesture of sitting face to face with his twin was, who seemed to be...well, normal, it didn't remove the presence of something far more sinister that lurked beneath it all. Perhaps the water was getting to him? Or maybe the clock? No, it must've been the silence – or was it all three combined? Whatever it may have been, everything felt far more amplified and tender than what it would've been if Tsuna was sitting opposite someone else.

He had faced many awkward situations in where he was met with an uncomfortable silence. However this was different than those trivial moments of social awkwardness. Tsunayoshi looked, seemed and, as far as Tsuna was aware, acted fine – and perhaps it was Tsunayoshi's well behaved demeanour that was throwing Tsuna off. Perhaps it was because he half expected to return home to Tsunayoshi standing over their mother's cowering body in a corner, kitchen knife gripped firmly at hand, and a manic smile spread across his maddened face. Everything Tsunayoshi had done so far had thrown Tsuna off – and part of Tsuna believed that was not a good thing.

"You look like you're thinking hard. Wanna share what's on your mind?" Tsunayoshi offered as he leant back in his chair. His limbs were loose, free at his sides. One leg was kicked up and bent at the knee so his ankle could rest on the bone of his right knee. Tsuna couldn't help but observe the other with starstruck awe. The contrast between both of them was indeed terrifying. Tsunayoshi was so incredibly casual about the entire situation, yet there Tsuna was – cowering in his seat as though at any moment Tsunayoshi was going to reach across the table and shove a chloroformed towel in his face, or even a knife into his neck.

"I'm just..." Tsuna started. He took a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh – he had the words he wanted to say, but currently found it hard to communicate them, "I'm still in...well...shock."

"Oh _that_," Tsunayoshi said, placing a heavy emphasis on 'that' as though he was aware of Tsuna's every waking thought and worry currently whirling around in his mind. Amber eyes flickered across the table separating the twins and finally met Tsuna's honey coloured ones in a worthy stare.

Tsuna flushed, primarily out of fear, "I...wasn't expecting you to just...to just show up."

Tsunayoshi's thin lips parted for a short, empty laugh, "My bad, like I said, I was looking forward to seeing you, couldn't wait, all that stuff."

After he stopped talking, his lips pursed back into a very assured grin that Tsuna found hard to read as anything else other than confidence. Brilliant, undeniable confidence. From head to toe, Tsunayoshi was the perfect model of confidence. His elbows rested on the back of the chair with his hands dangling at the sides – his head was cocked back in a way so that the kitchen light managed spray across one half of his face, yet shadow the other half. Tsuna swore, after managing to stare at his brother for longer than a few milliseconds, that Tsunayoshi's left brow was slightly arched above his eye in comparison to his right brow.

How did his brother manage to illustrate such a perfect, contemporary kind of teenage confidence within minutes of meeting Tsuna – yet Tsuna could barely manage to argue against a fly if he had to? Had Tsunayoshi magically inherited genes from their family that seemingly evaded Tsuna like the black plague? Tsuna even found it slightly embarrassing – how Tsunayoshi could be so casual and he was still struggling to form a sentence.

"So, _anyway_," Tsunayoshi pressed on, drawing out each syllable in anyway. He sat up, straight and proper for a few moments, before his body slouched forward as a means to lean onto the table. Both of Tsunayoshi's elbows hit the table one after the other with gentle thuds that caused Tsuna's heart to escalate in pace for each thud. Tsunayoshi's fingers cupped and curled around in on themselves in preparation for Tsunayoshi's chin to rest between the base of each of his palms. Tsuna winced as Tsunayoshi's chair squeaked against the polished floor so that Tsunayoshi was now sitting right on the edge of his seat too, "How have you been? Y'know, since I was–"

"Fine," Tsuna quickly cut Tsunayoshi off before he could elaborate. Biting down on the inside of his lower lip, Tsuna inhaled slowly once again, giving himself the temporary courage to continue speaking, "I mean...I...I've been doing okay...I guess...? Mom's been fine too...um...there's not much else to say."

"Not much? Tsuna it's been eight years. Is that all that's happened in eight years?" Tsunayoshi let out a small laugh through his nose. Tsuna guessed it was out of dumbstruck awe – awe that Tsuna would sum up eight years with 'there's not much else to say'.

"Well, my life isn't that interesting," Tsuna sighed, his shoulders relaxing as a sign of defeat. It was humiliating to admit that to someone. It truly was.

"Why not? After all, weren't you in detention? You gotta lead somewhat of an exciting life to get into trouble~" Tsunayoshi grinned.

Tsuna stared back at him in shock and horror. His pale pink lips had slowly parted themselves without Tsuna even realizing. Even the dribbling faucet and irritable clock had seemed to go silent for a few moments out of utter shock. Tsuna had _no_ idea how he was supposed to respond to that. I mean, after what had happened in the past and all...what was he _expected_ to say back to the other?

Quickly catching on, Tsunayoshi sighed and hung his head forward. His forehead slowly slipped down his forearms until it rested between the crook of his elbows, hands clasped together firmly before swinging his forearms towards the top of his head gently. The soft skin of his forearms collided into the mess of chocolate brown hair before departing from it once again.

"Sorry, sorry...that came out wrong," Tsunayoshi mumbled between his upper arms and into the wood of the dining table. For a few moments, Tsuna struggled to make out exactly what Tsunayoshi was saying.

"N-no, I just...I mean..." Tsuna searched for something to say, anything before the conversation turned on a far more desolate and scary route, "...I've just...been failing a class...w-well class_es_, but...yeah..."

Tsunayoshi lifted his head from his arms and looked over at Tsuna with a half dazed look. A lovable, almost tired grin crept back onto his lips so slowly and unnoticeable, Tsuna swore that one moment it wasn't there, and after blinking, it suddenly appeared stretched across his face. He sat up slowly, yet promptly.

"Failing? Aha, does mom know?" Tsunayoshi grinned.

Tsuna slowly shook his head, turning his head down to look at the table in shame, "No..."

Tsuna could hear Tsunayoshi playfully tut him from across the table. Part of Tsuna wanted to protest sheepishly as a fuel to the banter Tsunayoshi was initiating. Yet it was too soon. It was still too awkward. There were still hatchets to be buried, and things to be resolved. Issues that Tsuna couldn't talk to Tsunayoshi and face alone. Albeit, Tsunayoshi was obviously trying his hardest to make their reunion as painless as possible, in his own way.

He hadn't considered that. Maybe this was just as awkward for Tsunayoshi as this was for Tsuna? And just maybe, Tsunayoshi was trying to handle this too, but just in a different way than how Tsuna was? The situation was frustrating, Tsuna had zero idea about what was going on in his brothers mind. Was he just as anxious and paranoid as Tsuna was being, yet concealing it well? Or did he harbour no resentment at all and was just plotting his next move against Tsuna...? It was hard to decipher.

"Is that all you get detention for?" Tsunayoshi asked.

Tsuna shook his head once more, "Well...no. I sometimes get them for being late to class...and for um...not doing homework...?" Tsuna slowly began to loosen his nails out of their deep seated bedding inside the wood of the dining chair. He winced as he slowly tugged at them.

"Ah~ I see," Tsunayoshi said with a smile in his voice, "What about friends, ne? Do you have friends Tsuna?"

"Two...there's Gokudera and Yamamoto..." as Tsuna said their names, a small smile spread across his face, "They've stuck by me through middle school...and now through high school too."

"Is that so," Although his brother was smiling, there was something off about Tsunayoshi's tone. Something about the way Tsunayoshi replied to that didn't sit well with Tsuna – and he couldn't exactly place his finger on what exactly it was bothering him.

"Yeah–" Tsuna started to say.

"Ne, Tsuna, what about girls~?" Just like that, the playful mannerism in Tsunayoshi's voice reappeared. The oh so casualness that scared the life out of Tsuna.

"G-girls!?" Tsuna choked on his words. Immediately his face flushed a light pink colour that he tried to hide from his brother. How could he ask about such an embarrassing topic like that? Even if they were brothers, the last time they saw each other they weren't even thinking about girls...

Tsunayoshi nodded, "Yeah, you know. Girls? They're usually shorter, big eyes, got nice curves?"

With his hands, he began to overly exaggerate the curves of a bust and hip heavy woman with a stick thin waist. The heat began to further rise to Tsuna's cheeks as he followed the motion of Tsunayoshi's hands with careful eyes. As though on cue, he slammed his face into the palms of his hands in order to feebly wipe away the mental image that Tsunayoshi had just given him. Seriously, how was it that he could be so crude and get away with it? It embarrassed Tsuna to a great extent. He didn't want to see Tsunayoshi so perversely make a woman out to be like that and then imagine his long term crush Kyoko in the same perverse manner.

"Tsunayoshi..." Tsuna drawled out into his hands, only to get a mocking chuckle in response to his childlike whining.

"Ne, you don't need to be so shy," Tsunayoshi said.

"It's not that..." Tsuna muttered into his hands before slowly raising his head again to look at his brother.

"What? If you're not shy then what is it? You got some hot babe you're thinking about?" Tsunayoshi snidely asked with a smirk on his face.

"I– no!" Tsuna protested.

Looking into Tsunayoshi's eyes, Tsuna knew that the other didn't believe him for a second. The same, daunting amber eyes scanned Tsuna from his torso right up into Tsuna's eyes a couple of times before his brother's eyes rested on his own pair of eyes. They bore into him again, and on the surface those amber orbs seemed to harbour polite interest in Tsuna's reactions...yet beneath the flickers of gold and brown among the glistening amber, further down into the cores of Tsunayoshi's eyes – there was another glimmer of emotion. There were signs of hidden thoughts, trapped motives buried deep within the depths of Tsunayoshi's mind that only began to project themselves the longer you dared to let them. Tsuna was not prepared to let the disturbing images and signs he was getting from staring deep into Tsunayoshi's eyes. The result only nudged Tsuna further back into aimless anxieties.

"Jokes aside Tsuna, I think we should seriously talk about some things."

Tsuna did _not_ like where this conversation was starting to head.

"There's nothing we need to talk about," Tsuna said quickly, as more of a means to reassure himself than Tsunayoshi, "Everything's in the past–"

"Tsuna what happened was a mistake," Tsunayoshi ignored Tsuna's reassuring plea and pressed on. His head turned to the side as his gaze shot off towards something or another within the kitchen, Tsuna couldn't exactly place what, "...that probably sounds dumb. After all...eight years? And all I have to really say is...it was an accident. And that I'm sorry."

It wasn't comforting that Tsunayoshi forgot to apologize before he started to give excuses, that was something Tsuna was certain about.

"I..."

"Let me finish," Tsunayoshi interrupted again, this time with a little more authority in his voice, "I wouldn't be here if the doctors didn't agree, right? What I did to dad, I thought he was someone else. That's why I–"

"Please stop!" Tsuna exclaimed suddenly, his hands hitting the table with a light force, but enough of which that caused the table to rattle from the impact with a moderately loud thud.

Tsunayoshi stopped speaking almost instantly.

There it was, again, the incriminating silence that had not long ago strung awkwardness between both brothers. It crept out from the nooks and the crannies of the kitchen and reared its head once more. Bit by bit, it smothered the kitchen with it's eerie presence until it was choking both Tsuna and Tsunayoshi with virulent hands. The silence was violent, however the worst part about it was that all the other background noises – the clock, the faucet, they all faded into the intense blur of maddening silence. Tsuna was certain that even his own heart had managed to stop beating for the duration of the silent period that befell the two brothers. For if that wasn't the case, Tsuna wondered why his heart hadn't promptly leapt out of his chest right now from the intense fear he was experiencing.

The silence was only broken when Tsunayoshi's loud sigh broke through the sound barrier and brought the kitchen to life once more. Tsuna's upper body jolted at the sudden intrusion of sound upon his ears, but steadying himself quickly so he didn't give too much of his fright away. He'd already done enough damage for that for the day.

"...Well, one thing we were taught at the hospital was that we shouldn't keep all our thoughts to ourselves, sharing _always_ helps~" Tsunayoshi said with a smirk.

"Tsunayoshi..." Tsuna began warningly.

"Alright, I'll drop it. We have to talk about everything eventually Tsuna. The sooner the better, right?" his smirked gradually turned into a faint glimmer of a smile. Tsunayoshi's gaze softened.

Tsuna inwardly rejoiced out of relief. He had managed to bypass the awkwardness and fear of confronting what had happened eight years ago for another day, at least. He wasn't ready to confront it on so suddenly, just like Tsunayoshi had proposed. Albeit he could see the advantages in getting it over and done with, getting it out in the open and clearing the air so they could _try_ to live a normal, happy life; but this was just something Tsuna was not ready to face, and definitely not alone either. He'd wait until his mother was around, and then he'd talk to Tsunayoshi about what had happened eight years ago.

"You still seem nervous," Tsunayoshi pointed out as he got out of his chair. At first, Tsuna thought the other was going to walk over towards him, and promptly flinched after Tsunayoshi had taken a few steps.

Tsunayoshi, noticing Tsuna's flinching, looked over at his brother and raised his eyebrow at him yet again. He uttered not a word, his wrung, confused expression saying enough for him that betrayed the amusement in his eyes as Tsuna cowered before him. After watching Tsuna shrink further down into his chair both out of fear and out of the embarrassment that he reacted so automatically rash, Tsunayoshi decided to speak up.

"I was only going to check if we have any juice," Tsunayoshi said calmly before continuing his journey to the fridge.

"We have orange," Tsuna squeaked, "And apple."

"Ah, so boring~" Tsunayoshi hummed as he opened the fridge regardless. His eyes aimlessly scanned the containments of the fridge, as though he was expecting to find Tsuna had been lying and there was something far more adequate to his tastes inside, "Mmn, so you don't have peach juice?"

"...peach juice?" Tsuna asked in bemusement.

"Yeah, it's like orange and apple juice obviously, but tastes like peaches instead. It's pretty tasty," Tsunayoshi replied, closing the fridge door and turning back to look at Tsuna.

This was his chance to escape.

"I...I could go and get some if you want it?" Tsuna said hurriedly. He stood up, knocking the table forwards from the rushed impact. As a result, he took a few, small steps back into his chair, knocking it over onto the floor with a loud thud.

Tsunayoshi laughed, "A bit eager, aren't we? Sure, I don't know where the store is. So if it's still open you can grab me some if you'd like~"

"The store just around the block doesn't shut until nine," Tsuna replied hastily, not bothering to pick up the fallen chair, "I...it wouldn't take me that long...um..."

"You're such a thoughtful brother, ne, Tsuna~?" Tsunayoshi cooed with a grin. His body frame slouched to the side to rest against the fridge, using it as a pillar in order to keep his body standing upright, "I'll let you try a bit when you get back. You'll _really_ like it."

"T-thank you..." was all Tsuna managed to stammer before briskly brushing passed his brother and towards the front door. He swore that even when he was out of eyesight and the front door behind him was closed, he could feel the same amber eyes intently staring into the back of his head.

The walk to the nearest convenience store was indeed just a block or two around the corner. Tsuna hadn't meant to give away the time or the distance it would take him to get there and get back – his plan initially was to make out that the nearest store that sold peach juice was a good half an hour walk away from their home. That way then Tsuna had time to himself to think and to be as far away from his home as possible. The tension was so thick back there for Tsuna, it would've been possible to slice through it with a knife – and a really sharp one at that to cut through the tension quick enough.

Although he wanted to take a while being away from the house, Tsuna found himself walking with immediate haste towards the convenience store. The deduction for doing so was that, if he managed to get to the store relatively quickly and buy some peach juice, he could walk home quite slowly, and give himself time to think and calm down away from the insane mess Tsunayoshi was leaving him in when he was around the other.

Tsuna arrived at the store within four or five minutes, he hadn't been paying particular attention. In his haste, he forgot to grab a coat to wear on his way to the store, and was far more caught up in trying to vigorously rub his arms to keep himself warm until he got to the inside of the store. To distract himself from the cold, he had started to count in his head how many steps it took to arrive at the store. However he had lost count after two hundred and thirty seven and decided against trying to do a recount for the remaining time he had left to arrive at the store.

As Tsuna pushed open the door of the convenience store, a small bell above the door rung quietly a few times as an indication someone had just come in. The store was small – more of a corner shop in actuality, with no more than a couple of people inside in the few small aisles that took up the shop floor space. No one glanced at Tsuna as he walked through the aisles and towards the drink section, scanning for a can or a bottle of peach juice he could buy and quickly get this over with. After a few brief moments of scanning the shelves, Tsuna quickly eyed a carton of peach juice, conveniently the only one left on the shelves, and reached out to grab it. Upon extending his small hand towards the carton of juice, Tsuna felt another hand brush against his fingertips to grip the other side of the juice carton too. Startled by the skin to skin contact, Tsuna reigned in his hand and nervously glanced up at who else was reaching for the peach juice.

The man who was also attempting to take the last carton of peach juice was a rather tall build – not too tall that Tsuna hand to crane his neck back just to get a look at his face, but tall enough that Tsuna had to make an effort to glance up to get a better look at the man. His hair popped out against the dull browns and reds of the convenience store, it being a sunny gold that looked as though it needed a brush through, just like Tsuna's did. Moments after observing the man, a pair of azure, sky blue eyes looked down towards Tsuna, a sincere, apologetic look in them. The man remained stood there, a bottle of peach juice grasped in his large, but slightly feminine hand as he looked down at Tsuna.

"Ah, sorry, did you want this?" the man asked, turning the peach juice in his hand a little in order to indicate what he was on about. Tsuna heard the full containment of the carton swish around against the packaging as the man jerked it slightly.

"O-oh...um...it's fine...you got there first," Tsuna said in a rather quiet tone, averting his gaze away to the convenience store floor.

"No need to be modest. You were here first, I just didn't notice you were going for the peach juice too," although Tsuna wasn't looking at him, the man smiled down at the small boy regardless. He extended the hand that was holding the peach juice towards Tsuna, the juice inside swishing around against the container once again, "Here, you have it."

Tsuna looked back towards the hand holding the carton, staring at the peach juice for a few moments. Although he appreciated the kindness the man was showing, as he half expected him to just apologize for taking the last carton and then walk away with it, Tsuna still felt uneasy. He hated being in situations like this. The kind where you and the other person were caught between a wall of social awkwardness and polite gestures that just continued to make it awkward for one another. Yet he didn't want to be rude, snatch the carton from the man's hand, rush to the counter and then flee from the shop in hopes he never would have to experience anything like this again.

"...t-thank you," Tsuna caved in, taking the carton timidly from the man's hands and holding it between both of his own.

"You don't need to thank me. I've been drinking too much of that stuff anyway," the man laughed to himself afterwards, as though he'd just made a private joke with himself. In turn, Tsuna smiled awkwardly, and nodded, not wanting to be rude.

"Does it...um...taste nice?" Tsuna suddenly asked, shocking even himself with the further pursuit of conversation.

The man's expression changed to that of surprise, both of his eyebrows arched up and his lips parted in the middle to make a fraction of an 'o' shape, "You've not tried it before?"

Tsuna shook his head, "It's...for my brother."

The man nodded, as though he understood the situation entirely. Tsuna couldn't exactly call him out that it wasn't as simple as the man probably thought it was, after all he couldn't exactly blame him for making any assumptions about Tsuna's relationship with his brother.

"I see, older brother's have you going out running errands for them?" the man looked down to his shopping basket next to the drink section, the basket being filled with cheap food, "I have the same problem. He's not actually my brother though."

"Oh..." was all Tsuna could manage to say.

"You should have him let you try a bit of it," the man let off something of a warm grin as his eyes made contact with Tsuna's once again, "Trust me, you'll love it."

"I will," Tsuna said definitely, nodding his head.

"I've got to finish my shopping. I'll see you around sometime," the man said, reaching down and grabbing his basket.

"You too," Tsuna squawked, clutching the peach juice a little tighter between his small hands as he hurried towards the counter. He brushed passed the man as he knelt down to pick up his basket, almost bumping into him whilst doing so. After throwing his money at the cashier and declining the option of a carrier bag, Tsuna left the shop.

With his mind far too preoccupied to think about anything else, such as making a detour to the park to contemplate about what Tsuna planned to do for the rest of his life at home with Tsunayoshi around now, Tsuna found himself at the front gate entrance to his home. His journey home seemed to take only a couple of minutes in comparison to when he left to head out to the store. It was things like that, where time seemed so disjointed sometimes that the journey back from corner shops took less time than it did to actually get there, that made Tsuna's head hurt. It was way too confusing for him.

He approached his front door and fumbled in his trouser pockets for his keys. His hands shot around his his front and back pockets at least thrice over before Tsuna let out a heavy sigh. The heat of his breath mixed with the cold, night time air that caused a small cloud of smoke to appear before Tsuna's face when he let out the breathy sigh. He had forgotten to take his keys with him when he left to go to the store – _along_ with his coat, the cold decided to remind him. Tsuna bitterly knocked on the front door to his own house, dreading to see his brother's face when he answered the door.

The front door opened with a light clicking sound and pulled to the side to reveal Tsunayoshi standing there. In the time Tsuna had gone, he had changed out of the jeans he was wearing when he came to pick Tsuna up from school – and changed into more comfortable, pyjama bottoms that hung on his hips securely. Around his index finger, seated right on the tip of it, was Tsuna's set of keys to the house. They seemed to accessorize Tsunayoshi's infamous smirk.

"Did you forget these?" Tsunayoshi asked mockingly, swinging the keys once around his finger before letting them dangle again.

"Y-yeah...sorry..." Tsuna mumbled whilst taking his shoes off, placing them by the front door, and then stepping inside. He thrusted the peach juice into Tsunayoshi's hands. His brother, taken aback by the force from Tsuna, took a stumbled step backwards and dropped the keys onto the floor.

"..." Tsunayoshi's stare flickered between the peach juice and the keys that now decorated the floor.

Tsuna gawked at what exactly he had just done. Had he been too forceful handing the peach juice over to Tsunayoshi? He didn't want anything to blow out of proportion. For all Tsuna knew Tsunayoshi could suddenly start using that carton of peach juice as a weapon of destruction to attack him for acting so violently towards him. It was _not_ a situation he wanted to find himself in, and Tsuna quickly stumbled over his words to find some sort of apology for what he just did.

"I– I'm sorry. I didn't think it'd be so...so..." Tsuna couldn't find the right word. Forceful? Violent? Aggressive? He was none of those things – none of them made sense to use in his eyes.

"It's fine, Tsuna." Tsunayoshi's tone was dead and abrupt, "I'm _sure_ you didn't mean to do that."

"I didn't–" Tsuna stammered with a panicked voice.

"Tsuna..." Tsunayoshi began to say.

"The devil!" a voice suddenly shrieked from outside the house that caused both twins to start. Both identical heads turned to look out of the front door. There before them stood the old lady that lived next door to the Sawada's. Tsuna couldn't ever remember her name for the life of him, but she seemed to know both he and Tsunayoshi quite well to be calling one of them 'the devil'.

"The devil is back!" she shrieked again – her voice shrill and raspy to the ears, "How dare he set foot back here again! Madness! This is mad–"

Her yells and taunts were muffled immediately by Tsunayoshi gently, and carefully, closing the front door to their house. He made a point to lock it afterwards. All that could be heard were the remaining, nonsensical yells of the old lady who was probably still standing at the gate leading into the Sawada home.

"Tsunayoshi!" Tsuna protested, still finding what his brother did really rude.

"What? She's yelling a load of bullshit. I can shut the door on her if I want. It's not like she was being polite either," Tsunayoshi pointed out, his amber eyes still dead with seriousness and slight annoyance. Whether that was still from Tsuna's aggressive handling of the peach juice, or now from the deranged old lady from next door yelling and screaming all sorts of 'rubbish' – to put it in a less crude way than Tsunayoshi did – Tsuna couldn't tell.

"Well..." Tsuna couldn't necessarily argue with that. She _was_ being rude with her opinions, and this _was _Tsunayoshi's home now just as much as it was Tsuna's. He could shut the door on her if he wanted. Even if it was terribly rude – especially to do that to an elderly lady.

"See? I'm right," Tsunayoshi said, a flicker of a smile wavering over his lips.

"Well...I guess so..." Tsuna sighed.

"Ne, come with me to the kitchen Tsuna~ I'll let you try a bit of peach juice," Tsunayoshi said, beginning to make his way back towards the kitchen.

"I'm tired," Tsuna said quickly. He wasn't actually tired, however he didn't want this day to drag on any more than it needed to. It was bad enough that until the spare room was cleared out of junk he had to share a room with his brother – and Tsuna didn't want to share any more of this day with him either.

"...oh, I see. Then we'll head to bed~" Tsunayoshi smiled at Tsuna, one of his eyebrows raised.

That's not what Tsuna wanted either, but there wasn't much he could argue or protest against now that he had said he was tired.

"...un, let's," Tsuna said quietly in defeat.

* * *

><p><strong>I apologize a lot for the late delay of this! A lot of things happened between the last update and now. One of them being A-levels, and then moving to Uni, and more recently Creative Writing coursework. Holy hell, it's a lot of work. <strong>

**I think my style has changed since I've started the course, what do you guys think? And I write more too. This was twelve pages long. I wanted to go on but I decided to save the next bit for chapter four! If I went on, I probably would've written about twenty or so pages. **

**I want to also thank everyone for their patience with this story! If you also want to see a less destructive 7227 story! Check out _Promise Me_ that I'm writing right now also. But by all means if you want to see the twisted romance between this 7227 story go ahead and keep reading!**

**Thank you all for sticking by me!**


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